Chicago school board vote to oust CPS CEO Martinez
Following a 90-minute closed-door session at Friday night's special meeting, the board voted 6-0 to terminate Martinez without cause and ended the meeting without further discussion.
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Following a 90-minute closed-door session at Friday night's special meeting, the board voted 6-0 to terminate Martinez without cause and ended the meeting without further discussion.
Because Martinez was fired without cause, his contract allows him to stay on the job for another six months, and receive 20 weeks of severance pay.
Sean Harden was sworn in as a CPS board member last week.
It remains unclear if the mayor's latest proposal will win him enough votes from the City Council.
The 15 alders seeking deeper spending cuts sent the mayor a letter Sunday night outlining their proposals.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has rolled out his fourth proposed 2025 budget plan with a year-end deadline looming, dropping his push for a property tax hike, but critics said his proposed spending cuts still don't go far enough.
Mayor Brandon Johnson shared his latest budget proposal with members of the City Council on Sunday, dropping his pitch for property tax hikes in hopes of getting a deal done by Monday.
The city has just over two weeks to approve a balanced budget plan for 2025, or face an unprecedented city government shutdown.
After Friday's meeting, Johnson acknowledged he does not yet have the votes to pass his $17.3 billion spending plan.
After the meeting, Johnson acknowledged he does not yet have the votes to pass his $17.3 billion spending plan.
Before the budget can get to the City Council for a full vote, it needs to clear the Finance Committee on Tuesday morning.
It's unclear if Johnson has the votes to get his budget plan approved by the full council, and critics said the mayor has begun backroom promises to shore up support from those with cold feet.
This includes a decision on the future of Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez.
The mayor and the City Council have until Dec. 31 to get a budget passed.
Mayor Johnson has explicitly denied asking Martinez to resign, and only the Chicago Board of Education can fire him. Reports now say Martinez has been offered a buyout, but did not take the offer.
Reports now say Pedro Martinez has been offered a buyout, but did not take the offer.
Four former employees of the mayor's team were fired then put on the list for reasons that two aldermen say fall well short of what the list was intended for.
A balanced city budget must be passed by the end of the year. As of Tuesday, Dec. 2, there was no deal in sight with the Dec. 31 deadline in place.
Community leaders along with Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke inside a Humboldt Park café–kicking off the local holiday shopping day.
The documents reveal four complaints against Ronnie Reese between May 2023 and July 2024—all made anonymously for fear of retaliation.
The alders' idea is to move almost all city departments back to their budget allocation from 2020, but to add an inflation adjustment.
Johnson had planned to eliminate dozens of positions in charge of overseeing the reforms in order to cuts costs from the city budget.
In the poll, a total of 800 Chicagoans were asked a dozen questions about city leadership, finances, and ways to balance the budget.
The reopened Pilsen facility is one of three that Mayor Brandon Johnson promised would reopen by the end of the year.
"Some of the steps and measures that are being taken, these are some individuals that are having tantrums right now. It's time to grow up. The people of Chicago don't have time for that," Johnson said.
A man stood charged with a hate crime Sunday following an incident at a bakery in the west Chicago suburb of Lombard last week.
The acclaimed filmmaker, who died in February at age 96, revolutionized the art of documentaries with such films as "Titicut Follies." In an interview recorded last year, the pioneering Wiseman talked about his unusual production methods aimed at capturing life.
A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed Saturday night in the North Park neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Two eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 were blocked just south of Tinley Park, Illinois, early Sunday after a semi-trailer truck rolled over.
The 48th annual South Side Irish Parade was set to step off Sunday in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood.
U.S. intelligence has circulated to President Trump's inner circle that Iran's late supreme leader had misgivings about his son replacing him, viewing Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as not very bright.
TSA officers faced their first full missed paycheck Friday.
With oil markets paralyzed by the U.S.-Iran war, the Trump administration says it could escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz — a massive undertaking that experts say could already be in the preparatory stages.
A key City Council committee on Friday backed a $27 million settlement with the family of a mother of six killed in a crash during a high-speed police chase in 2017.
A federal judge has quashed a pair of grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board as part of a criminal probe by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office.
Tenants at a South Loop luxury high-rise that has been plagued with problems like broken elevators are vowing to fight five-day eviction notices.
It's become an annual March Madness tradition at CBS Chicago, pitting our city's best eateries in direct competition in a foodie bracket challenge. We did pizza, we've done Italian beef, we've done Chicago dogs. This year, we're taking flight with wings.
For Cook County residents hoping to lower their property tax bills, applications are open for exemptions.
Officials in the north Chicago suburb of Wilmette issued a warning Tuesday about scammers who are impersonating representatives of village departments.
The war with Iran is causing gas prices to surge, with motorists in Chicago and around the country guaranteed to feel the impact at the pump Monday morning.
A new Iowa law bans local nondiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity after the state became the first in the U.S. to roll back its civil rights code last year.
Food containing norovirus may smell and taste normal but still cause serious illness if consumed, FDA warns.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment from biotherapeutics company CSL for a new plasma therapy manufacturing plant in Kanakee.
When a doctor was told there was no cure for his daughter's condition, he was motivated to transform not only her health, but the lives of thousands of others.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
Despite a rash of restaurant closures, veterans of the plant-based food business pushed back against prophecies of doom — and in one case argued that such closures notwithstanding, plant-based eating is only growing.
Two popular Chicago craft breweries – Half Acre Beer Co. and Maplewood Brewery & Distillery – announced on Tuesday they are merging to create a new "premier Chicago beverage company."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment from biotherapeutics company CSL for a new plasma therapy manufacturing plant in Kanakee.
Capital One is laying off more than 1,100 workers at the former Discover headquarters in north suburban Riverwoods.
A new development at the southeast corner of Chicago's East Lakeview community would clear away a medical office building and replace it with a residential high-rise.
The acclaimed filmmaker, who died in February at age 96, revolutionized the art of documentaries with such films as "Titicut Follies." In an interview recorded last year, the pioneering Wiseman talked about his unusual production methods aimed at capturing life.
Comedy power couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are starring in the Goodman Theatre's new musical coming this summer.
A play inspired by the story of Emmett Till has now been extended twice past its initial run at Collaboraction Theatre in Humboldt Park.
Jennifer Runyon, a Chicago native who became famous as an actress appearing in "Ghostbusters" and "Charles in Charge," died last week.
A woman was arrested on Sunday for firing multiple shots at the Beverly Hills home of Rihanna, Los Angeles Police Department officials say.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has your 10:30 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Sunday, March 15, 2026.
Organizers are also reminding people planning to come out Sunday to pay close attention to parking restrictions and street closures in the area as the parade route fills up. Darius Johnson reports.
Shawna Mizelle reports on the servicemembers, who were killed when a refueling aircraft taking part in operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq on Thursday.
Two people were killed early Sunday morning in a crash on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago's West Loop.
Suzanne Le Mignot spotted a man dressed as Pope Leo XIV in the crowd after the dyeing of the Chicago River on Saturday, while Mary Kay Kleist shows us some photos of the incredible tornadic activity in the area last week.
All lanes of the inbound Kennedy Expressway were blocked in the West Loop early Sunday after a crash.
An on-duty Chicago police sergeant was shot overnight Sunday into Monday while driving in the city's Pullman neighborhood.
Another round of storms was set to hit the Chicago area on Sunday.
The 48th annual South Side Irish Parade was set to step off Sunday in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood.
A man stood charged with a hate crime Sunday following an incident at a bakery in the west Chicago suburb of Lombard last week.
Attorneys for the family of a woman killed in a crash during a high-speed police chase in 2017 say officers involved failed to activate their body cameras or turned them off during the pursuit.
A new specialized unit is being created to prosecute domestic violence homicides in Cook County, as these killings surged 15% last year, even as overall violent crime declined across Chicago.
After a year of water bill complaints in Lisle, Illinois, the village board is officially moving forward with a plan to review those issues and possibly have the village take over for the private utility that supplies water to part of the village.
Two separate child abuse cases in Lake County, Illinois, are prompting questions about the roles schools play in identifying warning signs and alerting authorities.
A Chicago senior citizen said his phone has been ringing off the hook with hundreds of unwanted spam calls that have made his beloved landline virtually unusable. New efforts in Springfield could bring real relief.
For Wheaton College's Tess Boyer, her prowess in the pool isn't the only impressive part of her story.
Vegas' Jeremy Lauzon and Chicago's Ethan Del Mastro were ejected in the third period after receiving roughing and misconduct penalties.
Neither team scored until the 81st minute when Cuypers sent a PK into the net after a foul on DC United midfielder Jackson Hopkins.
No. 3 Michigan beat Nick Boyd and No. 23 Wisconsin 68-65 on Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship.
Purdue beat short-handed UCLA 73-66 on Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
A man stood charged with a hate crime Sunday following an incident at a bakery in the west Chicago suburb of Lombard last week.
A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed Saturday night in the North Park neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side.
An on-duty Chicago police sergeant was shot overnight Saturday into Sunday while driving in the city's Pullman neighborhood.
The attacker rammed a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and opened fire, but he was the only one killed, law enforcement officials said.
A new specialized unit is being created to prosecute domestic violence homicides in Cook County, as these killings surged 15% last year, even as overall violent crime declined across Chicago.